Infants&#39; chairs



March 15, 1955 J. J. SCANLON 2,704,116

mmu'rs' CHAIRS Filed Nov. 15, 1951 INVENTOR. Jb/m Scan/on Attorneys United States Patent INFANTS CHAIRS John J. Scanlon, Bronx, N. Y.

Application November 15, 1951, Serial No. 256,543

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-127) This invention relates to chairs and relates more particularly to chairs of a size and construction fitting them primarily for use by young children.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and' constituting a part hereof, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

It is an object of this invention to dispense with the necessity of providing a number of chairs of different kinds, types, heights and construction to serve the seating requirements of young children of differing ages and sizes, in the many and varied places and conditions of usage commonly arising including: usage at the table, in the living room, in the car, at the beach, and elsewhere; through the provision of a new, useful and improved infants chair which as a single organizational unit is so constructed and arranged as to permit of its easy and convenient adaptation to the widely differing requirements and usages which a chair for children must satisfy in the rapidly changing growth stages characterizing a childs early years, which is capable of serving as a storage unit for certain of its component parts when they are not in use, and which moreover is simple in construction and lends itself readily to manufacture in an economic fashion.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a typical and illustrative embodiment of an infants chair in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in rear elevation of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 adapted for use at the table by removal of the four legs to permit of its being placed on an ordinary adult size table chair to the back of which it may be securely and removably secured by its component fastening straps as shown;

Fig. 4 is a view in top plan of the embodiment shown in Fig. l, the view showing in dash-dot outline a typical position to which the removable tray component of the chair may be moved to permit access to the storage compartment;

Fig. 5 is a view in section taken along the line 55 of Fig. 1 showing the interior of the storage compartment of the chair to which the chair seat forms a hinged cover;

Fig. 6 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary view of the floor member of the storage compartment seen in Fig. 5, the view showing the configuration of the upper left hand leg socket as seen in Fig. 5, the other sockets being of identical configuration;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in section corresponding to a view taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6, showing details of the leg construction of the chair and of the malnner of locking the legs in their respective sockets; an

Fig. 8 is a view in perspectvie of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 minus the legs and with the tray omitted for clarity, and adapted for use in the front seat of an auto- 2,704,116 Patented Mar. 15, 1955 mobile through the provision of suspension members as shown.

In accordadnce with the illustrative embodiment of this invention, right and left-hand side members 1 and 2, respectively, as seen in Fig. 1, are spaced from each other in parallel arrangement by means of front and rear spacer members 3 and 4, respectively, and by a bottom member 5 so as to provide a storage compartment 6 closed at the top by means of a seat member 7 which serves as a cover for the compartment.

The seat member 7 is suitably hinged at its back to the back spacer member 4 as by means of a pair of hinges 8, each of which has one leaf fastened as by screws to the under side of the cover member as best appears in Fig. 3, and has its other leaf similarly fastened to the outer face of the rear spacer member 4 as best appears in Fig. 2. Thus, the seat member 7 may be lifted to a position such, for example, as is indicated in dash-dot lines in Fig. 3, to permit access to the storage compartment 6.

A back member 9 is disposed between the side members 1 and 2 preferably in flush relationship with the rear terminal edges of the latter and is provided with oppositely laterally extending bracket portions 10 and 11 intersecting the side members 1 and 2, respectively, to which end the side members are suitably recessed at the rear of each, as indicated at 12 in Fig. 3, to receive the said bracket portions.

The side members 1 and 2, together with the bracket portions 10 and 11, provide a firm base for a pair of slotted arm members 13 and 14, respectively, which rest upon and are suitably secured to the said side members and the said bracket portions. Advantageously, the arm members are so constructed and arranged that the rear terminal surface of each will be flush with the back face of the back member 9, as is best seen in Fig. 3, and the inner marginal surface of each will be flush with the inner Irg arglinal surface of the side members, as is best seen in A tray member 15 is normally supported on and by the arm members 13 and 14 to which it is adapted to be slidably, pivotally and removably secured by means of manually operable fastening means releasably engaging both the tray member and the arm members. To this end the arm member 13 is provided with a vertical slot 16 extending longitudinally of the arm member for a major portion of its length. The arm member 14 is similarly provided with a corresponding vertical slot 17 paralleling the slot 16 but terminating in an open front end.

The tray fastening means as here preferably embodied comprises separate wing-nut and bolt units 18 and 19, one at each end of the tray member, which traverse the respective slots 16 and 17 and serve to draw the tray member to the underlying arm members and to hold it releasably at any selected station within the fore and aft limits of the slot 16. To this end, the tray member 15 is suitably apertured in vertical alignment with the slots 16 and 17 to permit the bolt shanks of the respective units 18 and 19 to be let through the tray and thence through the slots 16 and 17. respectively. The bolt shank of each unit is of a length suificient for the shank to extend below its related arm member a distance adequate for the threaded end portion of each to accommodate the wing-nut and, preferably, to be capped by a cap member 20 threadedly releasably engaging the shank end and serving to prevent the wing-nut from being accidently detached from the bolt.

It will be apparent that by freeing both wing-nuts, the tray member may be moved to either an extreme forward position or an extreme rearward position, or to any intermediate position. By moving the tray member to the extreme forward position, the tray member may then be pivoted about the axis of the wing-nut and bolt unit 19 to an open position such, for example, as that indicated in dash-dot outline in Fig. 4. Such movement is made possible by the open end of the slot 17 which permits the bolt shank of the unit 19 to disengage from the slot. The tray member may be entirely removed from the chair by removing the wing-nut and bolt unit 18.

Means are provided for bracing the arm member 13 against the greatly increased loading due to twisting, imposed thereon by the tray member when the latter is swung outward to an open position such as mentioned above. The bracing means as embodied serves to distribute the additional loading to the side member 1 without interfering in any way with the freedom of linear back and forth movement of the unit 18 in the slot 16. As here preferably embodied, a curved sturdy brace member 21, preferably of metal, having flanged end connecting portions, is disposed beneath the arm member 13 intermediate the ends of the slot 16 and preferably near the front end of the slot. The flanged end portions of the brace member are disposed to engage the under side of the arm member 13 and the outer face of the side member 1, respectively, and are secured to each as by means of screws or the like. The curvature of the brace member is of a degree to provide space for unobstructed back and forth movement of the unit 18.

Peg legs 22 extending from the bottom member are of a length to fix the seat member 7 at an elevation above 1 the floor convenient for use of the chair by small children. Advantageousiy the legs are of cylindrical contour and are removably locked in place at their upper ends inthe bottom member 5 through which they project slightly into the storage compartment 6. Preferably, each leg is disposed at an angle of about to the vertical so as to provide a firm and stable support for the chair against tipping. Holes 23 are punched in the bottom member 5 at the desired angle to receive the leg ends, the holes being cylindrical with one flat side 24 and slightly larger in diameter than the top portion of the legs. The legs 22 are provided adjacent their tops with a circumferential groove 25 whose width is slightly larger than the thickness of the bottom member 5. One side of each leg is provided with a flat side 26 extending from the shoulder 27 formed by the groove 25 of the leg, to the top of the leg. This flat side 26 generally matches the fiat side 24 of the hole and it will be apparent that by inserting the leg in the hole with the fiat sides opposed until the shoulder 27 abuts the bottom member 5, the leg may be then turned to lock it in the hole.

Through the provision of the removable legs 22, the chair may be adapted for use at the table by removing the legs and positioning the chair on the seat of an ordinary adult size table chair after the manner depicted in Fig. 3. in order to restrain the chair against movement the side members 1 and 2 are each provided with aligned strap slots 28 in close proximity to the bottom of the side members. Advantageously, the rear brace member 4 is forwardly ofiset in assembly relative to the back member 9 so as to provide an unobstructed area adjacent the rear of each side member, for the strap slots. Each strap slot is adapted to receive a strap 29 whose ends may be buckled or frictionally united to form a loop in known manner. As will be apparent from Fig. 3, the straps 29 permit of the chair being tied to the vertical back rails of an ordinary table style adult chair so as to prevent shifting of the chair on the seat.

It is a further feature of this invention that the chair may be adapted for use in an automobile by removing the legs 22 and, if desired, the tray member 15. The chair is then suspended from a pair of fiat support members 36) each having at one end a generally U-shaped hangar portion 31 adapted to be hooked under the bottom edge of the back member 9 so that the support member between its ends will be closely against the front face of the back member 9 and cause no discomfort to the user. The other end of each support member is similarly provided with a generally U-shaped hangar portion 32 of a size and a configuration adapting it to be hooked over the 7 top of the back rest of the front seat of an automobile so as to support the chair from the seat at a convenient height.

In general, it is preferred that the various members of the chair be made of wood and that they be fastened together by gluing and through the use of nails and/or screws as required and as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The tray member 15 is preferably a single piece of wood suitably routed out on its upper surface to provide a low rim for preventing dishes or other articles placed thereon from being easily knocked oh. It is preferred that the tray member be smoothly contoured to minimize sharp edges and it will be apparent that various sizes and shapes of trays are adapted for use with this invention.

It is further apparent that with very young children the chair in the legless form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is of particular utility since the legs may be stored in the compartment 6, and it may be used as a feeding chair at the table, or at the beach. In such use, the adjustability of the tray member 15 permits the latter to be placed at whatever fore or aft position is most suited to the comfort, and safety, of the particular child. As the child grows, this adjustability permits use of the chair in this form to be continued. In time, the tray member may be removed entirely, if desired. On the other hand, the same chair in the legged form shown in Fig. 1 is still adapted for use by the child as he becomes older, taller and larger. The tray no longer necessarily performs its retention and safety function, but it retains its utility as a holder for articles and dishes, in the displaced position shown in Fig. 4. The older child may use it for viewing television or other purposes and at the same time has the use of the tray for books, food or othier things. If desired, the tray may be removed entire y.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

I claim:

1. An infants chair comprising a seat member; a back member; a pair of spaced-apart side members; a pair of arm members separately supported by the respective side members over substantially the length of each, said side members being provided each with a recess at its rear and in which said back member is disposed between said side members and is provided with a pair of oppositely extending shoulder portions for supporting said arm members, said shoulder portions respectively traversing the respective side members within the confines of the respective recesses, each said arm member having a guide slot extending lengthwise thereof substantially parallel to the guide slot in the other arm member; a tray member bridging said arm members and being supported thereon adjacent its opposite ends for movement toward and away from said back member; and, means for releasably securing said tray member against said movement comprising a pair of rigid guide members traversing the respective slots in said arm members, each said guide member being engaged at one end with said tray member and having a terminal portion at its opposite end extending below the arm member, and a pair of tensioning members separately releasably engaging the respective guide members for tensioning said guide members to secure said tray member releasably to said arm members, whereby on releasing the tension imparted to said guide members, said tray member may be moved toward or away from said back member.

2. An infants chair comprising a seat member; a back member; a pair of spaced-apart side members; a pair of arm members separately supported by the respective side members over substantially the length of each, each said arm member having a guide slot extending lengthwise thereof substantially parallel to the guide slot in the other arm member; a tray member bridging said arm members and being supported thereon adjacent its opposite ends for movement toward and away from said back member; and, means for releasably securing said tray member against said movement comprising a pair of rigid guide members traversing the respective slots in said arm members, each said guide member being engaged at one end with said tray member and having a terminal portion at its opposite end extending below the arm member, and a pair of tensioning members separately releasably engaging the respective guide members for tensioning said guide members to secure said tray member releasably to said arm members, whereby on releasing the tension imparted to said guide members, said tray member may be moved toward or away from said back member, one of said guide slots being open at its front end and in which the guide member traversing the other guide slot provides a vertical pivotal axis for said tray whereby on moving said tray member to an extreme forward position the guide member traversing said open-end slot may be disengaged therefrom to permit said tray member to be horizontally angularly displaced on the vertical axis of the other of said guide members from said bridging position to a position in which it is supported cantileverfashion by only one of said arm members.

3. An infants chair in accordance with claim 2 in- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,967,533 Koop July 24, 1934 Giacomo et al Aug. 3, 1937 agner Feb. 20, 1945 Quiggle Sept. 28, 1948 Michal Apr. 26, 1949 Pettier May 24, 1949 Nidetch et a1 Mar. 13, 1951 Titus July 17, 1951 

